Soap-powder canister



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F. S. FAIRGHILD. SOAP POWDER UANISTER; No. 425,769.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2. P. S. PAIROHILD.

SOAP POWDER GANISTER.

Patented Apr. 15.. 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

FREDERICK S. FAIRCHILD, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

SOAP-POWDER CANISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,769, dated April 15, 1890.

Application filed June 25, 1889. Serial No.315,456. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, FREDERICK S. FAIR- CHILD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soap-Powder Canisters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in canisters for containing soap-powder or other comminuted detergent substance; and the object of my invention is to provide a device of this description whichshall be capable of containing a considerable supply of the powder, and from which the latter may be obtained in small quantities, as for cleansing the hands or small articles without danger of wetting the bulk of powder, which may be permanently attached to some convenient stationary object, as the wall, and in which the contents will be operated upon by agitators, so that it will feed downward freely as required.

I-Ieretofore Washing-powder has been used to a considerable extent for cleansing fabrics, 1

but has acquired but a limited use for bathing purposes, owing to its liablhty to become caked by moisture and the difficulty of readily obtaining a small quantity for use from the package or box in which it is contained.

With the ends hereinbefore set forth in view my invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, and then recited in the claims. a

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may fully understand its construction and method of operation, Iwill describe the same in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this speclfication, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective showing my de vice in operative position over a wash-stand; Fig. 2, a central vertical section thereof; F1 3, a section on the line 00 0c of Fig. 2,

downward; and Fig. 4, a bottom plan view.

Like numerals denote the same parts in all the figures of the drawings.

lookin g l is the hollow canister, preferably cylindric in shape, and provided with a removable cap or cover 2 and a bracket 3, whereby it may be firmly attached to the wall. In the bottom of the canister are a number of openingssay three-which are shown at, Fig. 3 and in dotted lines at Fig. 4 and are denoted by the numeral 4:.

5 is a shaft extended through the bottom of the canister and having a journal-bearing therein, and extending upward in the center of said canister for any desired portionsay two-thirds-of the'height of the latter. Upon the lower end of this shaft is secured a cutoff plate 6, which lies contiguous to the bottom of the canister and is provided with a handle 7. It has also perforations 8 equal in number to those in the canister heretofore described, and adapted, as will hereinafter appear, to be moved into coincidence therewith. -Stops 9 serve to limit the movement of the cut-off plate in both directions. Secured at intervals upon the shaft inside the canister are agitators 1O 11, which move with the shaft and whose function is to loosen and stir the contents of the canister. Those lettered 10 are preferably rectangular, so that they may operate upon a greater quantity of the powder, and these agitators are preferably arranged at least one for each opening and with their ends extending downward into close proximity thereto, so as to sweep across said openings at each movement of the cut-off plate. The agitators 11 are merely straight arms extending outward from-the shaft.

12 is a spring coiled about the shaft and adapted to keep the latter and the cut-off plate attached thereto in the position shown at Fig. et that is, with the respective openings in the canister and the cut-off plate out of coincidence. One end of the spring is se cured to the shaft and the other to a pin or post 13 on the bottom of the canister.

In operating the device it is only necessary to move the cut-off plate by means of its handle to the limit of movement permitted to it by the stop, when the openings in the canis quickly closed, is comparatively small, since the powder seems to choke and will not run freely. Upon the release of the handle, however, the cut-oif plate is returned by its spring 5 to its closed position, (see Fig. 4,) and the agitators stir the contents of the canister, so that fresh powder is deposited over the openings .in position to escape at the next movement of the cut-oif plate.

I am aware that a soap-holder from which small quantities of powder might beobtained has heretofore been made, and I am also aware that receptacles of various kinds have been provided with agitators. I therefore do not wish to be understood as laying claim,

broadly, either to the soap-holder, the agitators, or to the combination of the two; but What I do claim as of my invention is 1. In a device of the character described,

the combination, with the cylindric canister having a bracket and provided with openings in its lower end, of the shaft journaled in and extending lengthwise of the canister, the perforated cutoff plate secured to said shaft and against the outer surface of the perforated end of the canister, the spiral spring arranged around the shaft and adapted to hold the cut-off plate normally closed, and the agitators secured to the shaft and adapted to stir the contents simultaneously with the movement of the cut-off, substantially as specified.

2. The combination,-in a device of the character described, with the canister having a perforated bottom, of the movable perforated 3 5 cut-ofi plate, the spring-actuated shaft secured to and moved by said cut-oif plate, the agitators 11, for stirring the mass in the canister,,and the downwardly-turned agitatorslO, arranged one for each opening and in close proximity thereto, whereby at each movement of the plate a stirring of material is effected immediately over each opening, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK S. FAIROI-IILD.

Witnesses:

S. H. HUBBARD, A. W. CAsH. 

